Coincidence
by Diamond Wings
Summary: Sakura decided to do the mission intended for Ino secretly, under the blonde kunoichi's request. However, unknown to the pinkhaired female, the Hokage knows these things...could her mentor be planning something? GaaxSakuxSasu -DISCONTINUED-
1. Prologue

Hi everyone! My first fic, so be nice, ne?

Hope you enjoy! ♥

DiamondWings  
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Story dedicated to all the people who're reading this fanfiction, and my friend and beta-reader, Eikuir.

Disclaimer: All bow to the creator of Naruto - Masashi Kishimoto! (bows)

**Chapter 1– Prologue**  
Sakura completely understood and accepted the fact that Ino was her best friend, but this was simply going _too_ far. Here she was… expecting a nice, long, one-week break Tsunade granted her, but apparently the cruel world thought otherwise.

A loud, whiny 'pleaaase?' jolted the kunoichi out of her thoughts that involved Ino, a chainsaw, and gallons of a certain red fluid.  
Pulling away from the idea of making her rather gruesome images come true, Sakura sighed.

"I'll think about it."

Ino squealed at a deafening pitch, while glomping Sakura.

'Well, Ino-_pig_ lives up to her name,' Inner-Sakura commented dryly, with her hands covering both ears.

"Thank you sooo much, forehead-girl! See you later! I'm going to tell Sasu-chan now!"

The pink haired kunoichi winced at Ino's nickname for her childhood crush, but nodded nonetheless. "See you later, Ino-pig."

Sakura weakly closed the door, but not before she saw Ino crashing through a little crowd or Genin that were lounging around the bottom of the apartment complex's stairway.

A slight frown marred Sakura's usually cheerful features as she walked into the kitchen to brew some coffee. The medic-nin allowed the current situation to whirr through her quick mind.

Normally she would've agreed to go on the mission immediately, but the reason that her help was requested this time just pissed her off.

Yes, she knew that Ino and Sasuke were in a relationship, but what really wounded her most was the fact that Sasuke thought Ino was better then her. Be it in personality, beauty, strength, skill, or even in bed…apparently Ino bested her in all.

Sakura stood up from the stool stiffly. She'd had enough memories of mocking faces from her childhood, due to her lack of talent in the battlefield.

Just the thought of such things caused more then half of the counter to splinter into little bits that settled in a variety of places around the relatively small kitchen.

With Inner-Sakura still stampeding around her mind angrily, the only thing the kunoichi could do was pick the splinters out of her hand, stopping every once in a while to release some chakra onto her self-inflicted injuries.

'That Ino,' Inner-Sakura grumbled,' she dares to appear on our doorstep begging us to help her do that damn A-rank mission for her. Like hell! What an idiotic excuse too! An overnight date with Uchiha? Why the hell would she have to give us so much information? She's mocking us! I'd say a flat out no should shut her u-'

'Perhaps we _should_ take the mission though,' Sakura muttered to her other personality.

'Oh great, now _you're _turning against me?'

'Well no, just that…'

Sakura's mental argument was cut short by urgent knocking on her door.

Grudgingly she stood up from her seat to see who it was.

"Haruno-San! Tsunade-Sama has requested for you to take a trip to Suna!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly, but she took the scroll the messenger was handing to her anyways.

"Thank you," she murmured.

The male nodded and jumped off the front porch to wherever his next destination was.

Sakura scanned the scroll briefly, and was about to head back into her apartment when she heard a familiar person calling out her name.

A quick glance at the person standing at the bottom of her stairs was just about enough to make her slightly negative day turn down right soiled.

"What do you want, Uchiha," she asked coldly.

The kunoichi watched as the trademark smirk formed on the arrogant Sharingan-user's face.

"Sakura-chan," he acknowledged.

"What the hell do you want," Sakura repeated, letting part of her other personality take over.

"Yamanaka-san requested that I visit. Are you willing to take the mission?"

Sakura hissed, and looked back at the scroll resting on her hand.

From what the minimal information Ino had given her, she was supposed to escort someone to Suna from Konoha.

The person, whoever he/she was, was targeted by an S-Rank criminal, though there was only a slight chance that they would attack them during time that they were traveling.

How ironic, she'd have to go to Suna anyways. Might as well make Ino happy.

"I'll do it," Sakura announced, even though Inner-Sakura rambled on about how much of a mistake it was.

Sasuke smile never reached his eyes, as he bowed mockingly.

Crimson clashed with emerald, and Sasuke's smile formed into the facial expression he used just about 24/7.

'How I loathe that smirk,' Inner-Sakura muttered, even as Sakura felt her other self melting.

"Then you will go to Ino's house in thirty minutes," the Uchiha said, successfully breaking Sakura's thoughts.

His reply was a door slamming in his face.

A sadistic chuckle later, Sasuke was gone, with a faint smell of smoke announcing he had even visited his ex-teammate at all.

**End Chapter 1**  
Hope you enjoyed, see you next time!

DiamondWings


	2. Mission Start!

Disclaimer- Definition of fanfiction- a fiction, written by a fan! (omg!) And whoa, this site's called fanfiction dot net! That means that this is a (gasp, dramatic pause)….FANFICTION!!! Congrats to anyone who figured that out. :3  
Chapter 2- Mission: Start! 

When Sakura got to Ino's door, it was unlocked, so the female just assumed that she had no need to knock.

The sight that she was greeted with made her freeze both physically and emotionally.

'So Sasuke really is talented in every single way! Not as if I suspected otherwise,' Inner-Sakura said, as her voice cracked a little.

The couple on the couch looked up at their intruder, their eyes still not completely devoid of lust.  
"I'm sorry, the door was unlocked and I didn't think you two wouldn't be…."

Sakura hated her voice at that moment. It was wavering slightly, and she felt Inner-Sakura losing her temper at an abnormally rapid pace.

Sasuke stood up elegantly, not even bothering to hide his body in all its glory from her.

'Bastard,' Inner-Sakura fumed, as Sakura refused to allow her eyes to stray any lower then the Uchiha's chest.

Ino quickly stood up and straightened her top with one hand, as another nimbly zipped up her skirt. Due to the forced look of composure, it was quite obvious that she didn't notice the mess of her hair.

In the meantime, Sasuke was acting quite the opposite. He slowly slipped his clothes on, his taunting blood red eyes resting on Sakura's slightly pink face the whole time, the smirk still evident on his face.

Ino quickly grabbed a scroll from the table.

"Um…Yeah. Here," the blonde kunoichi said, sounding almost annoyed.

'Of course she sounds annoyed,' Inner-Sakura huffed, 'You just interrupted their baby-making, and her boyfriend didn't seem to mind other people seeing him nude.'

'I've always imagined Sasuke without clothing…but I never expected that...'

'Seeing it for the first time like this? Don't worry, you're not the only shocked one,' Inner-Sakura assured coolly, somehow managing to gain her 'see-if-I-care' attitude rather swiftly.

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you in a couple of weeks," Sakura said through gritted teeth, while making sure that Sasuke understood that she was directing her words to Ino, and Ino only.

The sharingan-user didn't flinch, but just walked to the direction of Ino's bedroom.

Being that Sakura had been to Ino's house several times, she could easily imagine the other female's bedroom. Add Uchiha in it and the thought just seemed _wrong_.

Ino's hands were already ushering her outside as she nodded.

Sakura felt her friend shoving her out the door and onto the street.

"Thanks again, Sakura."

The pink-haired kunoichi stared at the light blue door in front of her blankly, as half of her brain registered the click of a lock.

Today was seriously NOT her day.

'No discouraging thoughts, Saku-chan,' Inner-Sakura chided cheerily.

_Too _cheerily.

'You aren't one to talk,' Sakura mumbled to her inner self, while walking down the street slowly.

The lack of response made the world seem even drearier, if that were even possible.

'Oh well, now I have to pack for the mission.'

The fact that Inner-Sakura hadn't responded to even _that_ didn't go unnoticed by the kunoichi. ­

(Scene Change)

Sakura peered around the corner cautiously.

There would probably be no intruders any time soon.

"Henge no Jutsu!" (Transformation Technique)

Sakura casually strolled out of the alleyway, while making her way to the main gate.  
"You have a mission too?"

Blue eyes met green.

"As a matter a fact, I do," Sakura said, from her temporary form of Ino.

Looking at herself was slightly amusing. Ino hadn't messed up Sakura's face while doing her transformation either, more then likely because the pig had finally realized that this was an important part on not only Sakura's role, but her own too. If Ino thought it was tempting to add warts and unattractive blemishes on Sakura's flawless skin through the transformation, the feeling was rather mutual.

Together they walked to the exit of their town.

The silence was slightly awkward, but they both decided not to break it.

"Sakura, Ino," the Jonin guarding the front gate acknowledged.

"We will part ways here," Ino said.

Sakura mentally smirked at the slight tinge of impatience in her friend's voice.

Right when the thought completed itself, Ino leaped into the air and into the trees, her (technically Sakura's) thin form disappearing quickly.

"She seems more enthusiastic then usual…."

Sakura winced at the male's comment. Idiot Ino-pig. It wasn't a shock that she'd make a flaw in the already limited amount of work she had to do.

The guard seemed to snap out of his reverie, being that he turned to look at Sakura.

"The person you're escorting is Tanaka-san. He should be here soon…ah, there he is."

Sakura whirled around, and the blonde hair flowing from her head nearly hit the man standing across from her.

The person approaching them was in his older years, but he still bustled over quickly.

"This is my escort?  
Sakura nodded, and the guard wrote something onto the clipboard.

"Just follow the instructions Tanaka-san gives you, and you should be able to make it to Suna safely."

'Heh, he thinks that we're nervous because of the dangers when going to Suna,' Inner-Sakura snorted.

"Off we go then," Tanaka cheered.

With an exchanging of nods between the two Konoha ninjas, both Sakura and her escort were off.

(Scene Change)

Almost immediately after Ino entered the forest, she transformed back into her regular self.  
Not long after wandering a bit, she felt something wet on her ear.

The kunoichi shivered and stopped her running. She knew all to clearly of who it was.

"My little pearl," a husky voice whispered from somewhere near her neck.

Suddenly the warmth behind her was gone, only to return almost immediately.

Ino squealed when she felt her boyfriend lift her up bridal style.

After a loving kiss, Sasuke hopped easily from branch to branch to where they were going to be for the next few days.

Unknown to the currently thrilled Ino, her fate would only go down from here….

End Chapter 2  
Greetings everyone! Hey look, a slight cliffhanger! And I'm actually rather proud of myself, since I actually updated 2 times in one day on my first fanfic! (gasp) Well, either way, review to keep this author amused and inspired. :3 I have just about the whole story planned out, and from what my calculations are, the red-headed bishi shall be appearing next chapter. Thanks for reading, enjoy, and R.E.V.I.E.W. ++


	3. Mission Fail

Disclaimer: If I were the one who wrote Naruto, I'd be famous right now. However, I'm _not _the owner of this brilliant manga, so here I am, taking every review as another form of god. T.T

** Chapter 3- Mission: Fail**

"Konohagakure is an interesting place, don't you agree?"

Sakura looked curiously at the form sprawled out next to her. They had been silent for most of the trip, with only a few exchanges of direction. She planned to not talk too much, but a bit of a conversation wouldn't hurt.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

The darkening sky shed little light in the forest, but the twosome wouldn't be stopping for the night yet.

"You lived there all your life?"

Sakura nodded, but was drifting off in the thoughts of what Sasuke and Ino were doing right now.   
Due to being occupied with trying to calm Inner-Sakura down (the images set upon the kunoichi's head weren't too Sasuke-fangirl-friendly), she didn't hear her companion calling her "name".

"Yamanaka-san? _Yamanaka-san_?!"

"Eh? What?"

"We should get going now, if we want to get any further," Tanaka said, as his mouth curved up slightly.

"Oh. Right." Sakura got up and continued walking along the worn path.

Silence blanketed the two again.

(Scene change)

"Oohhh, Sasuke, it's so romantic," Ino cooed, while clinging onto Sasuke's arm and  
unintentionally cutting off his blood circulation. "Ino. Arm."

Said person looked at her arm blankly.

Sasuke mentally sighed, "_My_ arm."

Ino then looked at where she was practically pressing all her weight onto his right arm.  
"Oh! Ha ha, sorry Sasu-chan!"

The hold on his arm lessened by the merest bit, and the Sharingan-user wouldn't have been shocked if he looked down to see that his whole arm was purple.

Sasuke had actually discovered this spot when he was still with Orochimaru. Back then he had no love interest at all, and he only remembered that such a location existed when he accepted Ino as his girlfriend.

It seemed that times were changing, however, and Ino didn't seem to thrill him as much. As a matter a fact, it wasn't completely wrong to proclaim that Ino annoyed him to no end.

If anyone killed him, it would be Ino. It would be unintentional of course. Sasuke looked at his poor arm that was currently infected by an Ino-parasite.

Dismissing the rather disturbing thought of a leech with a face that resembled his girlfriend's, he decided that yes, he might have to avoid using his arm for the rest of the night.

How…inconvenient.

Sasuke then realized that… what the hell was he doing? He should be trying to get Ino off without hurting her feelings.

Then again, since when did he care about other people's feelings?

"Sasu-chan! Guess what?" Without bothering to wait for an answer, Ino grinned happily, "I made dinner for us!"

Sasuke half-grinned as he felt Ino's arms slip away from his arm to rummage around in the pack she had brought with her.

Ino must've mistaken the reason for Sasuke's smile, because she giggled and gave him the box she produced from her belongings.

The food that the blonde kunoichi made weren't really _that_ bad, but he expected that Sakura's was much, much better.

Talking about Sakura, he should probably bring her here when she loved him again. If she _didn't_ love him again…well, that wouldn't happen now, would it?

No one would disobey him.

But, maybe after tomorrow night's incident, she wouldn't want to come here anyways. Due to _bad memories_ that he would be forming in this area soon.

He couldn't wait to feel _her_ blood in his hands.

Sasuke moistened his lips before placing Ino's home-made…blob…into his mouth.

Before he could form his evil thoughts too much, four words flashed dangerously through his head.

Death by food poisoning….

(Scene change)

Sakura waited patiently as Tanaka went to some bushes into the distance to go to the restroom.

Supposedly they would be arriving at the beginning of the desert tomorrow morning.

'I wonder…what will we be doing in Sunagakure…maybe healing some people?'

Inner-Sakura paused her profane mutterings about a certain couple to look up at Sakura irritably, 'Doesn't matter, let's just hurry back and see if Ino didn't get caught.'

Sakura inwardly frowned. 'I shouldn't depend on you for advice when you're in your I-hate-Ino-Yamanaka mood huh?'

There was a slight rustling of bushes as Tanaka got back.

"Yamanaka-san?"

Sakura turned around. "Yes?"

"You don't have to keep the jutsu up," he said casually, as if every person who was supposed to escort him was under a jutsu of some sort.

Sakura mentally winced. Time to lie out of this one.

"I'm sorry, Tanaka-san," Sakura murmured, while trying to look bewildered, "What jutsu would you be talking about?"

The male sighed.  
"Tell you what. If you remove your transformation jutsu, I'll remove mine."

The kunoichi gaped at Tanaka. "You? You're using a transformation jutsu too?"

Said person's calming smile formed into a sickening smirk that rivaled Orochimaru's.  
"Indeed, I am."

Both Sakura and Inner-Sakura's eyes widened.

"Who are you," Sakura growled, while pulling out a kunai from its holster.

The form of Tanaka was gone in the sudden haze of smoke.

"You need not know my name," a voice announced from the suddenly foggy area, "Since all the knowledge you need to comprehend is that I shall be the cause of your demise."

"Well at least you don't have much of an ego," Sakura said sarcastically to the figure as the smoke cleared away.

The person kneeling on the ground was what appeared to be a man in his late teens, but even that couldn't be accurate information, because he was wearing an Anbu mask.

"Who are you," Sakura repeated impatiently, "and where did you get that mask?"

The male got up slowly, and leaned against a tree, acting as if Sakura was no threat to him.

"I already told you that you shan't know my name, and I got the mask from the Anbu squad I slaughtered before I got to Konohagakure. Sadly enough, this was the best mask that they had…all the rest were _so_ unattractive. There was even a _bunny _one. I believe that the person that owned that one was a female though, but one can't be too sure. I'm not really into raping."

The kunoichi frowned while readying her battle stance. "Where's Tanaka-san?"

A deep, masculine laughter echoed around the field.

"My dear, there _was_ no Tanaka-san. I am he."

"Why did you do this?"

The mysterious character lifted himself off of the tree to scratch the top of his head.

"Good point. Most people don't even ask, they just attack. You earn a less painful death because of that."  
'Great, I really appreciate that,' Inner-Sakura muttered.

Sakura mentally patted Inner-Sakura for her bravery. They were about to face someone who could kill a squad of Anbu by himself. Might as well start her mental will now. Not as if it would be of any use, of course.

The person that would be her 'demise' (which Sakura had to admit, was more then likely) didn't notice the slight smirk on her face as he plowed on," Well, you see, I got rather _bored_ of defeating everyone there was to fight…and so I decided to get a high class ninja from Konohagakure to battle me, in hopes of having some actual _fun_. However, sending out a female on an A-class mission, and a young female at that…is Konoha getting weaker? Oh dear, I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Let's get on with it now."

The sudden halting of conversation didn't startle Sakura too much, since the male seemed like someone who loved being unexpected.

With a clash of metal, both Sakura and her opponent jumped to opposite sides of the clearing.   
"Oooh! Not as bad as I thought! I might actually have to be serious in this battle!"

Sakura quickly tried to devise a plan against the egotistical male, but due to her panic, she couldn't make her brain function properly.

The kunoichi jumped onto a tree, but didn't manage to avoid getting a large gash on her leg, due to several shuriken being thrown at her.

She winced and was about to do a quick healing process, but she was forced to bound away from that particular tree again.

His stupid speed was pissing her off.

Right when Sakura landed, he was behind her again.

A blow at her stomach caused the female to cough out some blood.

Now getting enraged, she jumped to a tree and punched the air behind her while throwing shuriken to her left and right at the same time.

Sakura smirked as both shuriken hit his shadow clones and her fist connected with his chest.  
No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, she was starting to tire, and her mind was also wandering on its own path.

Come to think of it….

There were so many things she'd never achieved in life. For example, she never got a chance to try the new and improved _miso ramen_ from Ichiraku. Well, new and improved according to Naruto. Supposedly all they did was add in some more herbs and more miso.

Naruto…that reminded her, she'd never be able to whack her friend on the head again for being a Mini-Jiraiya. It seemed that ever since Naruto's training with the pervert, he'd been giving more lecherous comments.

And Sasuke…blah, screw him ('Literally,' Inner-Sakura commented dreamily, much to Sakura's annoyance.) "Stop dazing off, kunoichi," a voice murmured from near her ear.

'He recovered already?' Inner-Sakura frowned.

'That was a chakra-infused punch….'

Almost automatically Sakura jumped away from the source of noise, and turned around to see no one there.

Sakura concentrated on seeking her rival's chakra, but she didn't find a presence anywhere near the meadow.

"This is stupid. I hate it how people start to panic whenever they realize how powerful I am. I might as well finish you now…I'm getting bored."

True to what the male said, Sakura started to panic, and as she quickly scouted the area to find the male, she noticed that he was standing behind her.

Turning around, she quickly scooted backwards, only to trip on someone's leg.

Apparently she'd forgotten that he used clones, much like Naruto.

Sakura struggled to stand up, only to find that her body wouldn't move.

"I give you one hint. The Uchiha knows of my name. I had fun battling you, and I hope you end up in heaven."

How had an A-rank mission ended up like this?

The kunoichi watched as her life started flowing right by her eyes.

Sakura closed her eyes. She was accepting death. She would surely be back, even is she died.  
At least her ghost would return…she hadn't managed to make that sorry little Uchiha brat respect her yet. Black started to shroud her vision. Was she going to die before his attack even grazed her?

Everything from that point on was a blur.

All she recalled was someone calmly saying "Desert coffin", a pale figure with fiery red hair, and jade eyes staring blankly into hers… and then darkness.

_**End Chapter 3**_  
Say hi to cliffy-chan, you'll be seeing it a lot more throughout this story, cause I love being evil like that. :D  
Much love to people who read my fanfic, put this story in their favs, and last but definitely NOT the least, to all my lovely reviewers. You have managed to brighten up my day so easily!  
Anyhow, Thank you for reading chapter 3 of my fanfic, hope you enjoyed, and SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!  
Btw, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW, REVIEW…etc…!


	4. Change Is Inevitable

Currently having a slight writer's block (nooo…T.T), so this chapter is kinda short. Thanks for all the reviews! (Hugs all reviewers) The alerts and favs are also nice, but REVIEW!!! (Grin)  
Anyhow, enjoy desu!  
DiamondWings 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (Hey, I'm lazy today...T.T)

_**Chapter 4: Change is Inevitable**_

"Are you sure she's going to be alright, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade looked up from her stack of papers while taking the opportunity to refill her glass of sake.

"I'm sure. She _is _my apprentice after all."

Shizune frowned slightly. "You sound so sure of yourself…but it's an A-class mission. Sending only one Chunin to complete the task…isn't that rather risky?"

"Not really, I think that the old guy was just trying to make it sound like an important mission anyways. The worst scenario that could possibly happen is that members of the Akatsuki pop up and attack Sakura or something. What're the chances that such an incident would happen though?"

"I guess…you're right…."

"Of course. I'm always right."

"…self conceited…."

"_What did you say?!"_

**(Scene Change)**

Sasuke looked at the female spread out on the blanket next to him. The last rays of sun shone on Ino's pale skin, making her resemble a goddess.

Almost gently, he pushed away the hair covering part of her face.

Would he miss her?

The thought was probable.

"Ino. Get up."

"What is it Sasuke-chan?"

The male watched as his girlfriend stood up.

"Stand against the tree."

"Sasu-chan…What are you doing?"

Sasuke stood a few yards away from Ino, who had followed his orders despite her confusion.

Glassy eyes widened when a kunai could be seen appearing from her boyfriend's pouch.

"Sasuke-chan?"

Those were the last words the blonde kunoichi uttered.

**(Scene Change)**

Sakura's eyes flew open.

Yellowing hospital walls greeted her line of vision.

She was…where?

A rustling of cloth broke her confused train of thought.

The figure sitting near the window met her gaze.

"Gaara-san?"

"…"

'Still as talkative and cheery as ever,' Inner-Sakura muttered.

"You are currently under a transformation jutsu."

Inner Sakura gasped sarcastically, 'OH MY GOD HE TALKED ON HIS OWN!' "Oh. My friend wanted me to help her complete this mission."

Silence filled the room once again.

"I was informed by your Hokage that a female bearing the name Haruno Sakura would be sent here."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What?"

"…"

The Kazekage moved to the door.

"Kunoichi."

Said female turned to look at him questioningly.

"If you think that the form you are currently using is more pleasing to the eye then your regular one, then you're highly mistaken."  
Before Sakura could register the flattering sentence from the cold redhead, a growl emitted from the male standing near the sliding-door.

"I'll murder him…."

The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes were probably gigantic, being that she just heard the stoic male give her a compliment…and then get pissed off one second later. Talk about mood swings….

(Scene Change)

Kankuro fled.

It was simply just two different things… to have one sibling chasing after you with a murderous glint in their eye, but it seemed that this time both caught him at the same time.

Curse that stupid technique. And he thought it was brilliant too.

The skill could be used when at the most of one mile away from the victim. Correction. The skill could be used when at the most of one mile away from the person you were going to use it on.

Kankuro had to get some of his chakra onto his siblings, which was probably the hardest part. He concealed the chakra he put onto Temari's headband, which was conveniently sitting on the living room table that morning.

Planning how to get his chakra onto Gaara was harder, but Kankuro finally settled on hiding his chakra on Mr. Teddy. Kankuro knew all too well that Gaara still clung onto that raggedy bear every Wednesday night, which was why today was Thursday afternoon.

The turnout for all this…you get to control the person's body for five seconds.

Kankuro made Temari tell that one Konoha ninja (His name was Shikumara? No. wait…Shikomaru? Hmm...) that she loved him, while dear Gaara here said something embarrassing to that pink-haired kunoichi from Leaf.

Strangely enough, he couldn't control what Gaara said. Then again, he wasn't too surprised in a way. It seemed that Gaara's conscience was still to strong to confuzzle (A/N: I love that word! X3), so all Kankuro could manage to do was make Gaara say whatever he was thinking at the moment.

Kankuro frowned. "Temari! I swear! I thought it was a god idea at that mome-"

The house next to Kankuro was blown off of its structure by an abnormally strong gust of wind.

"-WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SWINGING THAT FAN, LADY!"

After running down narrow alleys (the ones that were too narrow he couldn't fit into, so the alleys weren't _that_ narrow, it just keeps Kankuro's ego up to say that they were narrow), the puppeteer reached girlfriend number seventy-six's house.

Wrenching some keys from his pocket, he unlocked the door to the moderately large buiding.

It was relatively safe to assume that he wouldn't get murdered soon.

Girlfriend number seventy-six (The name was currently floating around somewhere in the back of Kankuro's mind, since all he was thinking about now was running way from the two blood-related maniacs that were banging on the door currently) was gone for today and would only be returning sometime later.

Gaara probably wouldn't allow Temari to squish the house anyways….

A loud crash (That, I may add, sounded like a door being knocked down) caused Kankuro's train of thought to crash off a cliff.

_Damn_.

(Scene Change)

Loud voices in the hallway woke Sakura up from her light dozing.

A slight panic attack later, the kunoichi found herself looking blankly at two of the sand siblings.

"Where's Kankuro?"

Gaara's face twitched slightly, and Temari stiffened.

"He's in the emergency ward."

Sakura nodded. "When will I be heading back to Konoha?"

Temari looked at Gaara, who opened his mouth to speak.

"I did not kill your attacker."

"Attacker?" Sakura looked at him bewilderingly.

"…"

"Gaara told me that he rescued you from a guy wearing an ANBU mask," Temari said, apparently trying to knock some of Sakura's memory back into her.

"ANBU…? You mean that…oh. Well now isn't that peachy? Who _did_ you kill then?"

"A clone."

"How come I didn't sense that it was a clone then…?"

Temari glared at her younger brother. "He means that it was a body that was altered to look like its creator. Therefore, the actual person behind the attack wasn't killed."

Gaara was still silent.

"So…that still doesn't answer my question. When will I get back so Suna? I have to train right?"

"That jutsu is slowing your recovery rate."

Sakura looked at the gourd-wielder.

"Right."

Sakura transformed back to her normal self, mostly just to keep Gaara's temper down. In all reality, it didn't affect her healing speed at all. While she was by herself, she just healed everything. Being bed-ridden was boring anyways. The only thing that kept her in this old room was the fact that she might get lost.

Gaara nodded in approval, and Sakura couldn't help but remember what he said earlier. Did he really think that?

"You will be training in Suna, since it is dangerous to be traveling by yourself back to Konoha."

The pink-haired kunoichi raised her eyebrow. "Can't Temari or someone escort me?"

Said female shook her head. "I'm going onto a mission soon, and Kankuro has to stay behind since I'm leaving. Everyone else is busy. We're supposing that whoever's attacking you will also attempt to harm any leaf villager that comes here too."

With a sigh, Sakura looked up. "Fine. Who's my sensei?"

Gaara finally spoke up. "Me."

Temari frowned. "What about Satoru?"

"Fine. Me and Satoru."

A smirk found its way onto Temari's face. Did her little brother want to be Sakura's teacher by himself? It was amazing that he'd accepted the job in the first place. He seemed more eager then usual…. But then again, teaching Sakura by himself would probably mean being in a secluded area together, where many, many things could happen.

Well, those two _did_ look cute together….

Temari sighed happily.

Gaara looked suspiciously at his sister before striding out of the room.

"She'd better not be planning anything," he muttered to himself.

_**End Chapter 4**_

Wah..I'm sick and too lazy to send this chapter to my beta-reader, so it'll probably have to be redone AGAIN. Hope you enjoyed.  
DiamondWings


	5. Pitch Black

Greetings all! Hope the edits for chapters 1-4 didn't spam up your inbox too much. I just got a beta-reader, so more then likely this won't happen too much any more. X3

_**Edit: **__**And so I'm back! Sorry about such a long wait. Main reason for the delay is that I haven't been too inspired. I'll attempt to finish the plot though, and reviews would really help! To all you people who read this chapter already, it's been edited a bit, to make it longer and more grammatically correct and such.**_

Back to the point…enjoy desu!

DiamondWings

Disclaimer: Uh..yeah. I don't own Naruto. And I don't particularly want to, either, cause if I did own it, then the plot would probably suck so badly that no one would read it.

**Chapter 5: Pitch Black**

Temari grinned as Sakura stretched enthusiastically. "Glad to be out of the hospital, huh?"

"Of course," Sakura groaned. "That place is so boring that it isn't even _considered_ boring any more."

"Well I'm very sorry Sakura-_sama_, I'll go ask Gaara to put a gaming system in _**every single room **_in the hospital," Temari said jokingly.

Sakura paused her ranting and appeared to be quite occupied with her thoughts. "That actually isn't a bad idea…."

With a shake of a head, Temari opened the door of the house.

As they walked down the hallway, the blonde kunoichi pointed out the rooms. "You get the room over there, I'll be the room to your left, and Gaara's to the right. Kankuro's across from Gaara. Go ahead and get unpacked."

Sakura looked at her travel bag warily. "Hmm…."

"We could always eat first," Temari offered, noticing the gloomy air around the leaf kunoichi.

After some vigorous nodding from Sakura, both she and Temari headed to the kitchen.

"Okay! Let's get cooking!"

Sakura grinned as the other ninja brandished the frying pan enthusiastically. Maybe this mission wasn't _that_ bad.

**(Scene Change)**

Gaara picked up another scroll from the monstrous pile on his desk. So much for a break. Then again, when did he care about if other people gave him a break in the first place? He could do whatever he felt like.

With that decided, Gaara leaned back slightly in his chair.

His life would probably get very twisted from this point onwards. Another female in his house. (She WOULD be staying in his house, right?)

Hopefully this new girl would be better at cooking then Temari….

An image of the pink-haired kunoichi wearing a frilly apron suddenly invaded his usually opposite-gender-free thoughts.

The red-head's eyes widened as he saw himself walking into the scene.

The image-self was currently…licking frosting off of her face? Wha---?

A clatter made the Kazekage go crashing out of his (dirty) thoughts.

Gaara looked up from his desk to see Kankuro gaping at him, crutches on the floor, long forgotten.

"OH MY GOD GAARA'S BLUSHING!!!"

The red-head glared at his brother. "You wish to replay what happened this afternoon?"

**(Scene Change)**

"Heeey Shwakura, dis fwood's gewd!"

Temari glared at Kankuro. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

Gaara glanced up at his brother (who was currently spewing some green substance everywhere), deemed him unworthy of any more attention, and went back to his glass of water. He glanced at Sakura, who was laughing at Kankuro, being that he had forgotten yet another table manner and seemed to be having 'fun' getting beat up by Temari.

This atmosphere was very enjoyable for the Kazekage, no matter how much he denied or acted like he thought otherwise.

Might as well take advantage of it a bit, Gaara decided.

For the first time in a while, he allowed himself to relax and appreciate things for how they were at the moment.

**(Scene Change) **

"Who…?"

Tsunade's eyes widened at the lifeless body of Ino, whose parents stood next to the form of their daughter while crying silently.

After doing a few more checkups on Ino, the Hokage sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't do anything. She has been dead for around half a day. Shizune! I leave you to deal with this. I have people to inform."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said softly.

With a slam of a door, the Hokage was gone. She had to inform Sakura about this.

**(Scene Change)**

Sakura sighed and flopped out onto her futon. Today was a relatively relaxing day, since all she actually did was get introduced to Satoru.

The person that would be her teacher for the months she stayed in Suna (She _would_ be staying for a few months, right?) was what you could call good looking. He had a hair color that was a mix between black and blue…a color that wasn't that completely different than Sasuke's. His eyes were purple though, and they fit his dark attire.

Overall, he was a very amiable character, and although Gaara was acting slightly strange during the whole time that the three were together, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Right when Sakura was about to crawl underneath the blankets, she heard the door slide open, and she turned to see who it was.

"Eh? Gaara-san? Did you need something?"

His only response was to shove a scroll into her face.

Sakura removed the seal quickly, and flipped the parchment over.

Gaara studied the pink haired kunoichi for a moment, and was about to leave when he heard a slight gasp.

In his whole lifetime, tears had never disturbed him as much as it did now. It must have been because he never expected that Sakura, the ever cheerful character, would break down crying after reading a few lines on paper.

After contemplating his options, Gaara scooted over to where Sakura was crying into her blankets.

From then until dawn, Gaara just sat there watching the Konoha ninja cry herself to sleep. When she _had_ succeeded in falling into slumber, he still sat there, which allowed his brain to wander, whether he wanted it to or not.

Gaara glanced at the clock when it felt like the time he would usually go to the office.

As he sent the paper another look, he finally dared to peer at the barely legible handwriting on the scroll.

_Sakura,_

_This message is to inform you that Ino's body was discovered near a lake sometime during the afternoon. I'm afraid that she can not be revived, since her body had been lifeless for a while before we found her. The Kazekage sent me a message about your attack during the mission, and I would like for you to give me some information about what happened during the trip, where your escort went, and other matters like such. _

_Please do not leave from Sunagakure, since it is likely whoever attacked your escort will attack you if you do so._

_Do not be down for too long about Ino, since I'm sure many people will miss your cheerful smile,_

_Tsunade_

Gaara twitched. Why did it feel as if the closing part of the Hokage's letter was directed towards him?

The Kazekage was about to stand up when a hand grabbed his wrist.

Jade eyes met emerald.

'Oh shi—did I get caught?'

"Thanks for staying with me…Gaara-san…."

Said male had the temptation to sigh in relief, but chose to just nod curtly while pulling his hand from her grasp.

He half expected her to stand up indignantly and reprimand him for being so rude to a lady, but when he looked down, he noticed that she had fallen back asleep already. Had Sakura even known that she just grabbed the wrist of a murder? But..true, who _wasn't_ a murder these days.

Against his own will, he felt his lips quirk upwards a bit, and he watched, wide-eyed, as his hands moved to pull the blankets more securely around her frail form.

After a couple of seconds spent staring at the kunoichi, the Kazekage realized what he had just done. Not bothering to be quiet, Gaara slammed the door open and stiffly marched himself out of the room. What _was_ he doing back there?

**End Chapter 5**

Finally finished! I've been taking a longer time on these darn chapters, but I'm also planning some other stories! When I finish this one, I'll go work on the other ones. I also didn't turn this one into _Eikuir_ (my beta-reader), so it'll prolly be kinda…nasty. I just felt kinda guilty about not posting it up sooner, so I just stuffed some things together, and etc. I don't think this chapter was dark enough (looks at chapter title), but oh well. Might go over this later.

By the way, if you understand Maplestory, go check out my beta-reader's fanfiction! It's like…a Maplestory fanfiction yet not. Anyhow, it's awesome, and he's vocabulary is much larger then mine (Eh…age difference…T.T), so it's a good story.

Thanks for reading my story and blabberings,

_DiamondWings_


	6. Author's Note

To my readers-

I've always hated it when fanfiction authors cut off their story right in the middle, but me, being my hypocritical self, has decided to put this story on hiatus. I have become uninterested in my plot, since according to me, it's decidedly boring, corny, and things of that sort. My life has been becoming pretty busy, and I have a lot of homework and etc to do over winter break. I've just been reading various fanfictions lately, and my GaaraxSakura fancraze has lessened a bit, no matter how much I try to deny it. I will eventually start writing again, but lately I've just been working on stories, not fanfictions. So far though, no good writing is popping up, so I've been stuck with drawing. Anyhow, thank you to everyone who favorited, alerted, and reviewed. It means a lot to me.

-DiamondWings


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